Moments
by mormel
Summary: A series of glimpses and peeks into the life of NOIR, during and/or after the events in the series. Some chapters will probably be steamier than others, so the rating will most likely change.
1. Chapter 1

I thought of writing a collection of short stories, glimpses and musings of Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yûmura's daily lives. They could be taking place during or after the events of Noir, I haven't defined it that much. Some of them probably fit anywhere, while others are more of that "after-stuff". Each chapter stands on its own, and they are not necessarily in a chronological order either, but I thought it'd be odd to upload a multitude of shorties as their own stories, so. I'll be updating every now and then, and when I say it's complete, there will be no more chapters. We'll see if I manage to break some secret rule here with this stuff of mine. :)

**Rating will probably jump up a notch or two at some point as I write more stuff** (because we all know the two assassins will end up in bed sooner or later)~

As all of us know, I don't own shit, especially not Noir, Mireille B. or Kirika Y. They're property of Bee Train and the awesome people running the studio.

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><p>Kirika was sitting on the second downmost step leading to the bedroom area. Just sitting there, deep in thought. There was nothing out of ordinary, she usually just hung about when Mireille was doing her things at the laptop by the pool table. While the blonde kept tapping the keys and clicking the mouse every now and then, Kirika contemplated her life. Her life that was a lie, had always been. At least up until recently.<p>

Kirika didn't know her real name or identity, and about the only things she could remember about her past - against her will - were the slaying of Mireille's family, and a few things of Altena. Yes, she had mercilessly shot Mireille's father, mother and brother when she herself had been just a child, no more than six years old, at the most. And yet the blonde assassin had found it in her heart to forgive her the terrible sin.

In silence Kirika's gaze shifted towards the pool table and fixed onto the woman in question. Since meeting Mireille, Kirika had gained something. Her life was still mostly a lie, but there was now something in addition to counter weight that. Officially she was no more Kirika Yûmura than she had been before the Bouquet had made her entrance into her life, but the name was starting to mean something more to her. Not just because it was all she had, like earlier, but because of the sound of it whenever it was uttered out loud by the blonde. To Mireille she was Kirika Yûmura, and that made it a little less lie for Kirika. More than a little. She could accept that, all the more now, that she didn't have to be alone anymore.

The Japanese girl closed her eyes and let out a silent sigh. She had been so alone. So alone that all hert heart had known was darkness, all her hands had known was sin and blood, smeared all over them. And her mind had been numb, if not silently screaming its sorrow of being so utterly alone. And all the while her body had delivered death, the Beretta M1934 in her hand singing the song of the Reaper, felling targets one after another. Without fail or even the slightest morsel of hesitation. Kirika had been an emotionless killer, nothing more and nothing less. After her "rebirth" in Japan, when she had come to be the Kirika today, she had had no clue about anything at all, yet she was capable of killing people just like that. But her heart had ached in her chest, bleeding as her tears fell from her eyes, genuine perplexity repeating in her head over and over again; why didn't she feel anything for the people she rid the lives off of. Nothing, not a shred of sympathy or sadness. But that had changed later, as well.

Kirika opened her eyes again, when Mireille muttered something under her breath. Her gaze lingered at the blonde again, her mind wondering if something was wrong. Judging by the way Mireille's sandy brows were knit together, she had encountered an obstacle. With a deep sigh Mireille's shoulders slumped and she leaned her face to the palm of her hand that had abandoned the mouse. Her blue eyes then pointed their gaze at Kirika from under the furrowed brow, and the woman's mien changed in an instant, her posture straightening and a smile spreading accross her beautiful features, obviously trying to hide the fact she had been caught. But caught of what, was a mystery to Kirika, and she had no reason to know, either. But the smile on Mireille's face was nothing short of genuine and warm, and the corners of Kirika's mouth curved up slightly as well in response.

"I think I'll quit for the day", Mireille then said and stretched herself. "The computer won't co-operate with me at all for the moment, and my patience is running low. It's amazing how quickly it's drained when computers come in question..." the blonde then mused.

Kirika didn't reply, only kept looking at Mireille. She was waiting for the older woman to make a decision of what to do next, and Kirika would act according to that.

"Say", the blonde then begun, soon enough, "would you be up for a cup of tea?"

"Mm", Kirika hummed, nodding her head a couple of times as her smile got just a tiny bit wider. Quickly she got on her feet and made her way to the kitchen, filling a kettle with fresh water and putting it then on the stove to be boiled. She was always up for a cup of tea, as long as she could have one Mireille with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Mireille couldn't help throwing a furtive glance every now and then, while skipping between the numerous tabs in her web browser. Kirika was moving around the apartment, her bare feet making no sound at all on the hard wood floor. She had the gait of a predator, as would be expected due to her unusual career choice... or "career" chosen for her. She was unusually active today, though. Normally she just sat somewhere, leaned against a wall, stood staring out of one of the windows or lay across the bed, staring at the ceiling while Mireille was at her computer. Not today, though. Today she had watered the plants, as usual, and then stood for a while close to the one on the small table, leaning her upper body on the windowsill and staring out like so many times before. However, it had lasted significantly less amount of time than Mireille had expected, when all of a sudden Kirika had abandoned her spot and fetched a moist cloth from the kitchen. To Mireille's surprise she had then started wiping the windowsills carefully, removing the dust and dead insects from the lateral surfaces.

Having done the windowsills, Kirika had silently scooted back to the kitchen and washed the rag, only to return to wipe the radiators. There was a bit more challenge in them due to their more complex architecture, but Kirika's nimble hand slid the cloth along the smooth surface of the pipes with ease. Mireille didn't notice she had forgotten her work and only stared at the girl who moved to the next radiator. And then to the last. There was something captivating in the way the lithe girl moved. When Kirika had finished with the third radiator she once again made her way to the kitchen, but Mireille noticed she quickly glanced at the blonde with those almost red eyes of hers. Mireille flinched a little, embarrassed that she had been caught of staring.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" the Corsican quickly asked with a crooked smile in an attempt to cover her staring. Kirika stopped on her tracks and turned to look at Mireille, a confused look on her face, squeezing the dusty rag in her hand.

"Wiping the dust", Mireille only said and gestured towards the rag. Kirika glanced at it and then gave a thoughtful, long look at the radiators. She then laid her gaze at the floor and started moving again.

"I just thought I'd make myself useful", Mireille heard her say quietly and then she was out of her sight.

That made Mireille think. Kirika didn't have much in her life besides Mireille herself and killing people. And when they weren't on a mission, Mireille was often working at the computer, leaving Kirika alone. And often at those times the younger assassin just... _was_. She spent time by thinking... or whatever it was she was doing. In any case just passively being, breathing, and staring at something quietly. The Corsican had always assumed Kirika was thinking about things, going through stuff in her mind, but what if she wasn't? What if she was just waiting? But for what? The next assignment? Mireille? Anything?

Frowning, the blonde turned her gaze back at the screen of her laptop, but she had lost the will to work for now, her thoughts concentrated on her partner. What if Kirika actually considered herself useless? She didn't have hobbies, and Mireille was sure she'd never go out to have fun on her own, if it wasn't for Mireille to take her. But finding out what Kirika actually considered as "having fun" had proven a little difficult since the girl herself didn't have much experience about anything and thus she couldn't tell what she would have liked to do. So Mireille had to improvise and guess what might appeal to the other. But even when she found something that Kirika enjoyed, being sure of it was a little hard since her reactions were so mild, and Mireille couldn't be sure if she was just being polite. She didn't have a television so observing what sort of programs would have caught Kirika's interest was not an option. She had some books, but she'd never seen Kirika reading them. And she almost never used her laptop, either, probably out of consideration of Mireille's property. Or then she just wasn't interested in anything.

Mireille let out a sigh. She wanted Kirika to feel at home and relax, but she was so passive that it was really impossible to tell what went on in her mind. Ever since they had met Kirika had been a mystery to Mireille, and even if they had been living together a good while already, the enigmatic aura around her hadn't lessened. Perhaps even the opposite.

"Mireille?" sounded in the silence. Mireille focused her gaze to the world around her again and noticed Kirika standing a couple of meters from her, a questioning look on her face. She had just appeared there like a ghost while Mireille had been deep in her thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? How come?" the blonde asked with a frown. The first impression of the Japanese assassin might not be a very... good one. She seemed rather simple and childlike on the outside, and while there was a sort of innocence in her, she was, however, most perceptive about her surroundings. And in fact she was sharper than most people Mireille had met, but it just was her appearance that was quite deceiving. Even Mireille sometimes still forgot what sort of a person she was living with.

"It's just that you seemed so preoccupied", Kirika replied, looking at her intensely.

"Hey", Mireille said, dodging Kirika's question and closing the laptop cover. "Aren't you ever bored?" By this question Kirika seemed surprised.

"Not really", she replied after a short while of silence. That made Mireille think. So, she had to be spending all that seemingly idle time thinking. But of what? The Corsican got increasingly curious the more she herself thought about the matter. Lately she had grown more curious about Kirika in general, and she had come to wonder how her mind actually worked.

"It's just that you never really do anything", Mireille said. "Today is the first in a long time that I see you doing something else than just staring into nothingness." This apparently made the Japanese assassin confused or embarrassed and she turned her gaze down.

"I'm sorry", Kirika only said, and Mireille instantly felt bad. This was not going well, and her intention had certainly not been to confuse Kirika. On the contrary, she wanted to get to know her more in order to make her feel more comfortable. But it was proving to be a bit tricky. That shouldn't have been so surprising, though, Mireille thought.

"There's no reason to apologise", the blonde said in a friendly tone and got up, going to the younger assassin. "It just makes me wonder, seeing you so... passive all the time. Since you're now living here full time, in a foreign country and a foreign culture, I feel it's my responsibility to introduce you to something that might entertain you. I don't want you to be bored, after all", Mireille explained, feeling warmth rising up her face and knowing her cheeks must had reddened. She wasn't used to things like this.

"All I'm saying is, that I want you to feel at home", the Corsican concluded, not really willing to go on with the subject, but eager to drive her point across. She hoped it hit the goal.

Kirika didn't reply verbally, but Mireille noticed just the tiniest nod before the shorter assassin turned around and made her way to the kitchen again. Her passive and most obviously evasive reaction left a somewhat unpleasant feeling inside the Corsican assassin, but then again she hadn't expected Kirika to jump out of joy due to Mireille's declaration.

"Mireille?" came from the kitchen.

"Mmm?" the said blonde replied, turning her blue gaze at the sound, although she couldn't see its source.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes", Mireille said after a while of pondering, a small smile forming on her lips. Drinking tea with Kirika always seemed to soothe her mind, offering the chance for idle chatting, or more often just contemplating silence. Both were fine, since at those moments her mind was truly at peace, the tea magically shutting everything else out temporarily. "Yes, in fact I would."


End file.
